Volunteers Aged

Five mornings a week, beginning at midnight, Tom Haner patrols the streets of Canyon Country. He drives through the community, on the lookout for taggers and anything that looks like gang activity. He meticulously documents any newly painted graffiti and jots down descriptions of strangers. He's not a cop. He's not a security guard. Haner is 64, and retired.

When it comes to age, culture and language, the teachers and students in Westminster's literacy program could not be more different. But those barriers seem to dissolve when the two groups come together under Project SHUE, a 5-year-old program that unites white senior citizens and primarily minority children to share with and learn from each other.

One year into the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the number of participants in the police auxiliary program has doubled and their duties are being expanded. The program, which enlists the skills and energies of older members of the community, began in January with eight volunteers, including Henry Handy, in his mid-90s. Today, 16 men and women are performing police-related duties, freeing sworn officers to handle other tasks.

One year into the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the number of participants in the police auxiliary program has doubled and their duties are being expanded. The program, which enlists the skills and energies of older members of the community, began in January with eight volunteers, including Henry Handy, in his mid-90s. Today, 16 men and women are performing police-related duties, freeing sworn officers to handle other tasks.

Long Beach police have announced a new program in which retired people would volunteer to help officers with various duties, including follow-up contact with older victims of crime. Dubbed "Senior Police Partners," the six-month pilot program is scheduled to be in operation this summer, said Karen Kerr, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.

A volunteer patrol of senior citizens and others trained to spot suspicious activity has helped police arrest seven suspects in the past week at the Huntington Beach Mall, police said. The new program, in which a squad of 60 civilians acts as the "eyes and ears" of the Police Department, has been a resounding success as the mall copes with the last-minute holiday rush, Police Lt. Chuck Thomas said.

The hours are long, and there is no pay. But Hilde Keneley said she feels far more secure with her current vocation than when she held a paying job. In the past 15 years, the 70-year-old Keneley has logged more than 17,000 volunteer hours at South Coast Medical Center, far more than anyone else on the auxiliary's roster. "I work for free," she said, "where nobody can get to me."

When it comes to age, culture and language, the teachers and students in Westminster's literacy program could not be more different. But those barriers seem to dissolve when the two groups come together under Project SHUE, a 5-year-old program that unites white senior citizens and primarily minority children to share with and learn from each other.

Artist Wassef Mwafi, 35, has laid down his brush and is learning to use a gun along with thousands of Jordanians who want to defend their country and, if possible, fight for Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Jordanian officials said Wednesday that 323,000 men and women have volunteered for the Popular Army since Iraq's Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. The volunteers, aged 16 to 55, include doctors, engineers, lawyers, laborers, industrialists and Bedouins.

Organizers of an event that would give disabled children exclusive access to the Conejo Valley Days carnival for one morning still need more than 200 volunteers to sign up as attendants. The program, called Special Kids Day, allows children with disabilities or special needs to visit the booths and sample the rides at the Thousand Oaks carnival site before the carnival opens to the public. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29. The carnival opens to the public at 5 p.m.

A volunteer patrol of senior citizens and others trained to spot suspicious activity has helped police arrest seven suspects in the past week at the Huntington Beach Mall, police said. The new program, in which a squad of 60 civilians acts as the "eyes and ears" of the Police Department, has been a resounding success as the mall copes with the last-minute holiday rush, Police Lt. Chuck Thomas said.

The hours are long, and there is no pay. But Hilde Keneley said she feels far more secure with her current vocation than when she held a paying job. In the past 15 years, the 70-year-old Keneley has logged more than 17,000 volunteer hours at South Coast Medical Center, far more than anyone else on the auxiliary's roster. "I work for free," she said, "where nobody can get to me."

Five mornings a week, beginning at midnight, Tom Haner patrols the streets of Canyon Country. He drives through the community, on the lookout for taggers and anything that looks like gang activity. He meticulously documents any newly painted graffiti and jots down descriptions of strangers. He's not a cop. He's not a security guard. Haner is 64, and retired.

Long Beach police have announced a new program in which retired people would volunteer to help officers with various duties, including follow-up contact with older victims of crime. Dubbed "Senior Police Partners," the six-month pilot program is scheduled to be in operation this summer, said Karen Kerr, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.

Cigarette smoking can lead to "smoker's face," a wrinkled, weary, haggard look that will give you away every time, a British doctor says. In an article published Friday in the British Medical Journal, Dr. Douglas Model, a specialist in general medicine at Eastbourne District General Hospital, said his findings could be important in anti-smoking campaigns.

A group isn't just the sum of its parts, says a researcher who was driven by his own experiences to study why bright people sometimes founder when they put their heads together. Robert J. Sternberg, a professor of psychology and education, found that the success or failure of a group effort is determined in large part by the blend of the members' attributes and skills.